Squabble surfaces in mayor's race

San Diego City Council members Kevin Faulconer, left, and David Alvarez, right, along with former Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, participated in a mayoral debate last month at the Logan Heights Family Health Center.
— Howard Lipin

San Diego City Council members Kevin Faulconer, left, and David Alvarez, right, along with former Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, participated in a mayoral debate last month at the Logan Heights Family Health Center.
— Howard Lipin

San Diego City Councilman Kevin Faulconer landed the mayoral endorsement of a group of retired high-ranking military leaders on Friday as rival candidate David Alvarez accused Nathan Fletcher of breaking a pledge to stay clear of negative campaigning in his run for mayor.

Each of the candidates is vying to replace former Mayor Bob Filner in a Nov. 19 special election. Also a major candidate in the mayor's race is former City Attorney Mike Aguirre.

Faulconer’s latest endorsement comes a week after a coalition of veterans gathered to endorse Fletcher, who served 10 years in the Marine Corps.

“In the city of San Diego, now is the time to have a leader who’s been there, who has been doing it now for two terms,” said Assemblyman Rocky Chávez, R-Oceanside, a retired Marine Corps colonel who appeared at a news conference with the USS Midway as a backdrop.

If elected mayor, Faulconer said he plans to place a high priority on providing assistance for veterans and will pursue a “boots to badges” program aimed at recruiting vets to serve on the city’s police force.

“Having never served, I rely on the knowledge and expertise of military advisers,” Faulconer said. “When I’m elected mayor, I will form a Military Advisory Council and ask these exceptional leaders to join this council, which will work with me to ensure the city of San Diego is doing all it can to assist our veterans and returning heroes.”

Meanwhile, Alvarez’s campaign took Fletcher to task on Friday over a campaign mailer that went out this week critical of both Alvarez and Faulconer. While the mail piece was not financed by Fletcher’s campaign, its negative tone, said Alvarez, was not in keeping with a promise that the former state assemblyman made to focus only on his ideas and vision for the future.

Fletcher, at a debate last month, said he would “denounce any group affiliated with me” that attacked the other candidates. The mailer, paid for by Restoring Trust in San Diego, a committee supporting Fletcher, describes Alvarez as “one of the most partisan members of the City Council, contributing to dysfunction and gridlock.” The committee is heavily funded by Irwin Jacobs, co-founder of Qualcomm, where Fletcher now is employed.

Fletcher has been the target of several very critical mailers from the pro-business Lincoln Club, which has endorsed Faulconer, a Republican. The mailers have also praised both Faulconer and Alvarez, a Democrat like Fletcher.

“If Nathan Fletcher believes supporting Democratic positions is a problem, he should stand up and let that be known to all voters,” Alvarez said in a statement. “I will continue to run a campaign focused on the issues important to San Diego voters.”

Fletcher campaign spokeswoman Rachel Laing in response noted that the mailer did not originate from Fletcher’s campaign.

She added, “It appears to use accurate facts, and I hope they’ll continue to use accurate facts.”

In a move to counter Faulconer’s military endorsements, Laing released late in the day an announcement that retired Rear Admiral Jose Luis Betancourt Jr. is endorsing Fletcher.